Rat runs

veryangryman

Decided id bring up this idea. Any ones you know locally?

i used to do the one in Athlone (Mels Terrace to Ballymahon Road) when the old Crescent Roundabout was replaced with those bollocky lights. This was made into a cul de sac soon after though. Bhí mé raging! :mad:

Learned the informal Mountmellick bypass the other week too. Saved me a ton of time Athlone-Cork

Any you use yourself? Dont worry, its only boards, very few of the general traffic read this.

antoobrien

At least 3 to get to Tuam from Galway (avoiding Claregalway & parts/all of N17 until you get to Tuam)

Several In Galway city

Use several alternate towns (i.e. not road signposted) to get to various towns in south Mayo.

I used to have routes around Moate, Abbeyliex, Lucan that were handy before the full bypasses were fully completed.

L1011

used the very poor longford one a few times. Not useable while the bypass is being built though.

There's one around maynooth marked 'local traffic only'. Its not backed with any orders and, well, I'm kinda local...

Colm R

There was the one around Abbeyleix. Very popular on Sunday evenings going North. About 2km before the town you swing a left down a very narrow road. After some lefts and rights, you'd come out 2km north of the town.

MrDerp

Colm R wrote: »

There was the one around Abbeyleix. Very popular on Sunday evenings going North. About 2km before the town you swing a left down a very narrow road that resembled the moon's surface. If a car came the other way you literally had to edge forward slowly until both of you could find a spot to pass that didn't leave one of you in a crater. After some lefts and rights, you'd come out 2km north of the town.

Fixed your post

serfboard

antoobrien wrote: »

I used to have routes around Moate, Abbeyliex, Lucan that were handy before the fully bypasses were fully completed.

God be with the days. You could tell the young people that nowadays and they just wouldn't believe you!

SeanW

veryangryman wrote: »

Learned the informal Mountmellick bypass the other week too. Saved me a ton of time Athlone-Cork

informal Mountmellick Bypass? Please explain, I sure could use this on some of my long distance travels.

My favourite rat-run is on (or should I say off) the N52 through Kilbeggan. Bsaically what you have with the N52 is, the old Mullingar-Kilbeggan road was trunked N52 but either recently or at the time of its designation, the N52 takes a detour several miles out of the way towards Tyrellspass and then back along the M6.

What I do is:
Going from Mullingar to Kilbeggan/Tullamore:
At the end of the twisty section of N52 where there speed limit is now 50kph where you are told to take a left at the next junction to stay on, don't. Instead, go straight through that junction and continue on, the road goes directly into Kilbeggan town. At the end of the road, take a left, next roundabout take a right, continue on about 500M or so to rejoin the N52.

Going from Tullamore to Mullingar.
Where the road is signed M6 to Mullingar, don't go onto the motorway but instead go into the town. Left at the roundabout, right on the road signed "Ballymahon" and "Mullingar." You'll rejoin the N52 (with priority ) just before the bad bends start.

Even if you don't prefer to use the old Mullingar road in general, it's handy to know it because if you're coming South from Mullingar and you see there's some gobshite in front of you, when you get to the junction you can see which way he/she is going then you go the other way.

AugustusMinimus

Macroom bypass.

Going towards Killarney, swing a right when you see the sign for Blarney. About a mile and half of twisty roads and junction will take you out just over the bridge past the town centre.

Robbo

serfboard wrote: »

God be with the days. You could tell the young people that nowadays and they just wouldn't believe you!

Amen. Swing a left just at the Well Pub/Nitee Klub, keep going for the best part of a mile, right, through a couple of crosses and you were the far side of Moate with 25 minutes in your pocket on a Friday evening.

Tell it to the kids today, and they wouldn't believe you. The year was 2006.

antoobrien

Robbo wrote: »

Amen. Swing a left just at the Well Pub/Nitee Klub, keep going for the best part of a mile, right, through a couple of crosses and you were the far side of Moate with 25 minutes in your pocket on a Friday evening.

Tell it to the kids today, and they wouldn't believe you. The year was 2006.

I hit Moate on Friday afternoon at 4pm. The traffic was backed up to the side road off to Tubber, about 4km form the choke point. This is conveniently where I took my detour. the radio said 25 minutes through Moate. By the time I got past it, 45 minutes was the delay.

I was asked one day how do I know where I'm going - any sign that says Moate, go the other way until you see signs for Clonmacnoise/Tubber.

L1011

The Sion Mills/Strabane Bypass (for traffic heading to the N15), through Clady is another one I inherited from my parents as a rat-run, they'd been using since the days when it was a gamble wheter the RUC would make it take longer!

Can also be a much quicker way to get to Raphoe if you're willing to risk it up some hideous mountain roads.

medoc

SeanW wrote: »

informal Mountmellick Bypass? Please explain, I sure could use this on some of my long distance travels.

Coming from Portlaoise on the N80 at the end of the long straight section take a left onto the Ballyfin road R423. Take a right turn (L2097) under the old bridge straight away. After a few hundred meters you pass over a little hump back bridge stay straight ahead ( right brings you back into the town). At the T junction with the R422 turn left. Take the next right (L2095) which brings you out on the Tullamore Road well outside the Town.

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=53.1276&lon=-7.3481&zoom=13&layers=M

Before the Tullamore bypass opened I used to stay on the R422 to Clonaslee and cut across to the Blueball on the N52 but that isnt needed anymore.

sentient_6

antoobrien wrote: »

<selective cut> any sign that says Moate, go the other way.....

Good rule to live by there....:pac:

SeanW

sentient_6 wrote: »

antoobrien wrote:

<selective cut> any sign that says Moate Limerick, go the other way.....

Good rule to live by there....:pac:

FYP! :pac:

marmurr1916

medoc wrote: »

Coming from Portlaoise on the N80 at the end of the long straight section take a left onto the Ballyfin road R423. Take a right turn (L2097) under the old bridge straight away. After a few hundred meters you pass over a little hump back bridge stay straight ahead ( right brings you back into the town). At the T junction with the R422 turn left. Take the next right (L2095) which brings you out on the Tullamore Road well outside the Town.

http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=53.1276&lon=-7.3481&zoom=13&layers=M

http://maps.google.ie/maps?saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Cloonagh,+Ireland+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&ll=53.126071,-7.31329&spn=0.059847,0.169086&sll=53.14121,-7.361526&sspn=0.029913,0.084543&geocode=FftDKgMdUQWQ_w%3BFRd9KgMdMbiP_ylHGkGgdwldSDGw8eg3qccAGA%3BFbj0KgMdyZGP_w&oq=Cloonagh&t=h&gl=uk&mra=dme&mrsp=2&sz=14&z=13